Chapter 8 #2
“Holy shit. That’s Reuben Bello!”
“What? No way. Why isn’t he in the VIP?”
“Can you get more VIP than the front fucking row?”
I lifted my head to look around as we pressed through another gate and into the crowd with security flanking us on all sides. That was the second time there’d been a Reuben Bello sighting, and I still couldn’t see what everyone was talking about. Although I doubted I’d recognize him.
“You excited?” Ben asked into my ear, his lips brushing against my lobe.
“So much. Thank you.”
He kissed me long and slow. Long enough for people around us to start to cheer—as I discovered when I broke our kiss and looked at the stage, assuming the show was going to start.
When I realized people were cheering our kiss, I burrowed into Ben’s chest again.
“You want?” Ben held out a small transparent plastic package to me. Earplugs.
I nodded, ripped open the package, and put them in. Ben did the same with another pack.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, and I melted into his side.
Then the opening strains of Monica’s song ‘ Going Down ’ vibrated around us and I whirled around to watch the spectacle.
The band picked up the beat and the dancers moved onstage in synchronized movements.
I moved unconsciously to the beat, wiggling in Ben’s embrace, his arm still around my shoulders.
Then the spotlight lit up Monica standing toward the back of the stage, and goosebumps broke out over my whole body.
She sang her epic breakup song about trashing a guy’s house once she caught him cheating on her, a tiny headset mic stretching from her ear to her mouth.
But my eyes were focused on the dancers. They moved around Monica and occasionally she joined in their synchronized moves. They were so sharp, every movement clean and exact.
I didn’t even realize it, but sometime after the first verse, I’d wriggled a little bit away from Ben as my arms mimicked the movements on stage. When I realized what I was doing, my shoulders came up to my ears, and I dove back into Ben’s arms.
“I’m thinking you’re not here for Monica,” he shouted into my ear over the pulsing music around us.
I just shook my head and stayed in his arms.
Pyrotechnics blasted over our heads, and I jolted before turning back to the stage to watch the show.
The music transitioned to another song, this one just as fast as the last one, and I kept my eyes on the dancers, wishing more than anything I was up there with them.
Forty minutes and so many awesome dances—I mean songs—later, I did it again. Seriously, there must be something wrong with me. I’d stepped out of Ben’s arms at some point, only this time I might’ve been going a bit harder. My movements were the same as the dancers.
At the break after the second verse, Monica addressed the crowd even while the song continued to play.
“Come on, girl in the denim dress. Come up on stage. I see you trying.”
Then she pointed at me.
“Get her onstage.”
I turned to Ben, wide-eyed. I never thought… What?!
He grinned at me. “You heard Monica. Go!”
It was a chaos of security and gates. And then the next thing I knew, some guy in all black holding a clipboard and wearing a headset pushed me onstage.
“I’ve had an awesome time tonight. I hope you all have too. My set’s almost over. Just one more song.”
The crowd booed and cheered. And I just stood there on the edge of the stage, wanting it but scared out of my mind at the same time.
Monica transitioned seamlessly into her next song, ‘ Dance ‘til Dawn ,’ an upbeat song about a girls’ night out. And I just stood there to the side of the stage for a second, totally and completely intimidated.
“You wanna dance with us?” Monica asked, pointing a finger at me. “Let’s go!”
My legs moved to the beat on their own volition. Dancing toward the back of the stage when Monica called me out.
“Uh uh. Up here with me. Let’s see what you’ve got, girlie.”
My heart literally in my throat, I moved to her left and picked up the moves with her dancers. Monica continued to sing, and I swear to god, I felt like I was flying.
It was everything.
Dancing in the middle of her troop, next to her, I knew I stood out like a sore thumb—everyone else was dressed in tight black, sparkly pants and tanks while I whirled around in my bright blue denim dress. But it was amazing.
And I killed.
I moved with the dancers, joining them in a single line on either side of Monica. Then we broke off to circle behind her, moving in synchronized arm movements. We rushed to the side of the stage and then back to the front where I stood next to Monica again.
And I kept up the whole way.
“You see?” Monica asked into her mic. “You can do anything if you put your mind to it.”
The lights strobed on the stage as we went through complicated arm and body movements. Monica continued to sing and dance through the end of the song.
Then the lights went down, and Monica put her arm around me.
“Thank you. Oh my god. Thank you,” I whispered.
“You were awesome, girl.” Monica beamed at me, pulling me in for a hug.
The lights came back up.
“That’s it for me tonight.” Monica waved to the crowd with her free hand. “You’ve been amazing, Oceanfront Music Festival. And wasn’t she amazing? Good night, Oregon!
Then Monica grabbed my hand and walked offstage with me.
With me .
People immediately swarmed Monica with makeup touchups and water while a third person did something to her hair. And I just stood there feeling like I was in the middle of the best dream of my life. It was all so dang surreal.
“Holy shit!” Ben tackle hugged me. “You were amazing out there!”
I hugged him back. “Oh my god. This never would’ve happened but for you. Thank you, Ben. Oh my god.”
“You know our girl, B?” Suddenly Monica was at our side, staring up at Ben with her eyebrows raised.
“Our girl?” Ben laughed. “She’s my girl.”
“Well, all right.” Monica grinned at both of us. “Congrats on nabbing such a kickass dancer. She’s too good for you.”
“Oh, I know it.” Ben grinned down at me.
“And if you’re ever looking for a dancing gig, hit me up.”
I stared wide-eyed at her. “Seriously?”
“Hell yeah. You were awesome. Go exchange info with Will over there.” She gestured at the clipboard guy who’d pushed me onstage.
“Okay.” I tried and failed to not geek out.
“I gotta go do my encore. But hit me up later, B. I’d love to get to know your girl better. And we haven’t talked in a millennia it feels like.”
Ben tipped his head. “Sure thing. Awesome show as always, Mon.”
“Thanks.” She wagged her eyebrows, then ran back onstage where the rest of her band and her dancers were already waiting for her.
“Fuck. You were awesome.” Ben’s arms came around me again as he picked me up and twirled me around. “I’m so proud of you!”
“It was amazing.” I wound my arms around his neck and kissed him, putting all my elation and spent nerves into the kiss. And he kissed me back just as ardently.
I had to pull away due to lack of oxygen.
Ben’s eyes sparkled down at me, and I caught my breath for a whole different reason.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, baby.” He shook his head slightly. “Come on. Let’s go talk to Will before he wanders off. You gotta jump on every industry contact when you can. Believe me.”
We walked to the side where Will still stood with his clipboard. Ben introduced me and did the whole bro hug thing with the guy old enough to be my dad.
Will put my info into his phone and gave me his number. “If Monica says she wants you, then she wants you on board. Call me tomorrow, and we’ll see where we can put you.”
My grin ate up my whole face. I don’t think I’d ever smiled this big for this long in my entire life. “Thank you, Will. I will absolutely call you tomorrow. Thanks so much!”
Ben’s arm came around my shoulders, and he nodded at Will before we walked away.
Only once we were clear of the chaos of backstage did I finally let it loose.
“Woo!” I screamed. “Oh my god. That was amazing! I danced onstage with Monica freaking Moore. That was everything!”
“And you did such an awesome job, she wants you to go on tour with her!”
I waved a hand. “Well, no job offers were made. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“What’s to get ahead of? Her tour manager wants you to call him. What do you think that means?”
“That I’m going to call him tomorrow. Seriously, Ben, you gotta slow your roll. Unless I have a signed contract in hand, I’m not going to count on anything.”
“He’ll offer you the job. Trust me.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Why? Because you have contacts you haven’t really told me about?”
“I…”
“You’re on a first name basis with Monica freaking Moore? What is even going on?” I paused for a second then sucked in a breath. “Did you set this up? Are you the reason she pulled me onstage?”
“What? No. I don’t know Monica that well. I might’ve sorta kinda dated one of her friends a few years back. But I hardly know Monica.”
I took in his baffled expression and the possible twinge of hurt in his eyes, and I winced.
“Sorry. I just, I didn’t know what to think.
You got us spots centerstage at a gen admin concert, and then she acted like she knew you…
” I trailed off and shrugged helplessly.
“Nothing this amazing ever happens to me. Ever . And I guess I assumed it wouldn’t have happened because of anything I did. ”
“Of course it happened because of you. You were amazing up there. You were all I could look at.” The expression in Ben’s eyes had me catching my breath.
I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him again. I tried to put all the emotions vibrating through me into the kiss. I was on such a high I didn’t know when or if I’d ever come back down.
But then Ben’s stomach rumbled, breaking the moment and making us both crack up.
“Come on.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him away. “Let’s get some fuel in you.”